Indonesia election: An ‘impossible’ country tests its hard-won democracy

Budiman Sujatmiko has lost none of the passion that he used to show as one of the boldest student opponents of Suharto, the soft-spoken but ruthless dictator who ruled Indonesia for 32 years.

“In the 1990s our challenge was authoritarianism. We needed democracy. Today our challenge is inequality and backwardness,” Budiman says in his campaign office, ahead of Indonesia’s presidential race on 14 February.

In a scarcely believable twist, Budiman is now a spokesman for Prabowo Subianto – the frontrunner in the race, Suharto’s son-in-law and the man who epitomises that authoritarian era. The former special forces commander has been accused of a string of human rights violations, and was sacked by the army in 1998.

“People change after 25 years, just like I have changed,” Budiman says. “We have both moved to the middle.”

It’s a stunning turn of events. The once-disgraced military strongman and the fiery activist now find themselves on the same side in a democratic election. As unlikely as that alliance may seem, it helps tell the story of Indonesia’s young, rowdy democracy.

As BBC correspondent in Jakarta in the late 1990s I reported on Budiman’s courageous opposition to Suharto, and on his trial, where he delivered an hours-long, stinging rebuke of the government’s repressive habits. I visited him in jail. I watched Prabowo manoeuvring in the power struggle that broke out amid the chaos of Suharto’s last days, then being out-manoeuvred and cast out. I watched the euphoria of student protesters ousting a ruler who had dominated their lives and the lives of their parents. Those were heady days.

Yet today Indonesian politics is dominated by the same powerful, wealthy figures who prospered under Suharto.

The violence that accompanied Suharto’s fall from power led to predictions that Indonesia would break apart
Some have called Indonesia an impossible country. It shouldn’t work, but it does – with its kaleidoscopic range of political parties representing one of the largest and most diverse populations on the planet. The 17,000 islands – and 700 languages – that make up the archipelago are spread over an area as large as the United States. It’s a fast-growing economy, but with millions of its people still living in poverty.

Yet it has proved remarkably stable. Defying predictions that it would implode, like Yugoslavia, Indonesia has had just two directly elected presidents over a 20-year period, both of whom have been moderate, effective and popular, delivering steady economic growth.

What worries many Indonesians now, though, is what will happen to their democracy if Prabowo wins?

Foes to friends
From the campaign trail, Indonesia’s democracy – the third largest in the world – appears to be in rude health.

Gone is the heated, sectarian divide of the last presidential contest in 2019, when President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, then seeking a second term, faced a determined rival in Prabowo who mobilised hard-line Muslim groups to contest the result. A week of rioting left at least 10 dead.

This time Prabowo, in his third attempt at the presidency, has teamed up with the still-popular Jokowi, who cannot run again. He has taken Jokowi’s son as his running mate and stuck with his development-focussed policies. You will get more of the same, he is promising, and it seems to be working. The platforms of other two candidates, Anies Baswedan and Ganjar Pranowo, differ little in essentials.

The presidential debates have been largely calm and courteous. Rallies have been boisterous and full. Turnout on polling day will be high.

But Prabowo’s dark past still looms – despite Jokowi’s backing and a slick social media campaign that has transformed the image of the military hard man who dabbled with inflammatory populism into a cuddly grandfather figure.

“I want to ask Prabowo: ‘Where is my son? If he’s dead, tell me where his body is. If he’s still alive, where is he?'” says Paian Siahaan.

His son, Ucok, disappeared in the last months of the Suharto regime in 1998. The unit Prabowo commanded was held responsible for the kidnapping of 23 activists. One died and 13 have never been found.

<<BBC>>

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